A coworker of mine was telling me a story about how his son was supposed to be doing some homework with his friends. He walked in and saw him playing minecraft on the xbox. My coworker was obviously mad that his son was playing a video game instead of doing homework… until his son showed him that he was doing homework. They were all logged in to minecraft using the blocks to solve math problems.<p>That same coworker describes minecraft as an 11 year old boy's Facebook. I think he has a great point. Minecraft is more than a game now.
"I worked on a couple things for Mojang, including the relationship with LEGO, which originally was meant to be much more encompassing had it not been for the poor attitude of LEGO’s IP lawyers who were so counter to the culture of Minecraft and LEGO that it ultimately killed the deal."<p>Wonder if Lego will come to regret that or if they're strong enough to see off a threat in this space?<p>If your kids play Minecraft, have they also played Lego?
I enjoyed the article, but this was the most provocative line.<p>"Microsoft bought Minecraft to keep its desktop Windows franchise alive."<p>Is this really still about desktop operating systems?
> Simply put, Microsoft bought Minecraft to keep its desktop Windows franchise alive.<p>If he's right, then Minecraft's support lifespan on non-Microsoft platforms can be measured in months, not years.
His "Games Redefine Entertainment" video is a good watch (short, 11 mins): <a href="http://vimeo.com/97757759" rel="nofollow">http://vimeo.com/97757759</a>
"...did anyone ever care about how much money the founder of LEGO, Mr. Kirk, ever made..." - er, yes. Especially here on HN I believe.<p>"...I don’t even think my 12- and 8-year old sons know what Word is..." - it means something, right? I mean it's so common for 12- and 8- years old to be using some sort of powerful text editor. I forgot the last time I used iOS, it's getting obsolete and dying, right?
"he consistent manner with which Markus, Jakob and Carl steered Mojang out of the principle of doing the community right, is outright admirable."<p>That sentence made my brain hurt.